Vinz Clortho

Vinz Clortho the Keymaster of Gozer was a demi-god and loyal minion who obeys The Destructor, and possessed Louis Tully in Ghostbusters. Vinz is assumed to be male because it is known as the Keymaster, and possessed a male host instead of a female host. Also, it has noticeably longer horns than Zuul, the Gatekeeper, who is believed to be female. Vinz Clortho was worshipped by the Sumerians and Hittites in 6000 BC, alongside Zuul and their master.

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Vinz Clortho manifested on Earth in 1984, after Zuul, on the roof of 55 Central Park West as a large horned beast with vicious red eyes known as a Terror Dog. He emerged from Louis Tully's closet during a party he was holding for his clients. Vinz then, in Terror Dog form, chased Louis out of the building and cornered him at the Tavern on the Green in Central Park where he attacked and possessed Louis.

While possessing Louis' body, Vinz was able to speak, but not coherently and was in a disoriented state. He took on the identity of The Keymaster and immediately sought out Zuul the Gatekeeper, another minion of Gozer who had possessed the body of Dana Barrett, Louis' neighbor and not so secret crush. In search of The Gatekeeper, he was arrested by the police for harassing random people (including a coachman at whom he growled with red eyes ablaze). The police were concerned with placing him in regular lock up and Bellevue Hospital refused to take in Vinz. The police released him into the custody of Egon Spengler and Janine Melnitz. Egon performed a scan of Vinz's brainwaves which revealed an image of the demonic Terror Dog's head on a screen hooked up to the device. While in Egon's custody the possessed Louis revealed his identity along with Gozer's plan.

The next day, Walter Peck arrived and shut down the Containment Unit. Amid the confusion, Vinz managed to escape, wandering aimlessly around the chaos until arriving back at the Shandor Building to find The Gatekeeper, with whom he shared a passionate kiss at Dana Barrett's apartment. They ascended a secret stairwell leading up to the roof where some time later, they were finally able to mate, opening the gateway to an alternate dimension through which their master, Gozer would enter with the intent of destroying the world. Upon completion of the opening of the gateway Vinz, along with Zuul, transformed into their true demonic Terror Dog forms.

After Gozer was defeated by the Ghostbusters, Vinz disappears from this dimension and Louis Tully is transformed back into a human being, having no recollection of the events that took place since his and Dana's demonic possession.

Unlike the more seductive and tempered Zuul, Vinz was more dim-witted. For example, he confused the Gatekeeper with a horse while attempting to identify its partner. Vinz also repeats human behaviors and speech to mimic humans in close proximity, such as Egon. Also, while Zuul secretively ambushed her host Dana in her apartment, Vinz recklessly attacked Louis in full view of others at a party, before chasing him out of the building and through an active street.

The sequence of Vinz Clortho bursting through Louis' bedroom door, landing on the buffet table and crashing through the apartment door into the hallway were postproduction blue-screen shots utilizing a small-scale stop-motion puppet animated frame by frame. The closeup shots and scenes where Vinz didn't walk, run or jump were filmed on the live-action set using the full-size articulated puppet. [4]

In early storyboards, Vinz' clumsiness was more emphasized. He was going to crash into another wall and cause bookshelves to fall over. [5]

For the scene where Vinz was in the hallway, a puppeteer was situated through the elevated floor under the puppet. The puppet's facial expressions were cable controlled by six operators working independently but in concert. They used the video camera in the foreground to gauge their actions. [6]

In a deleted scene from the first movie, Louis suggests remembering having had sex with Dana Barrett while they were both under possession, to which Dana, unknowingly, believes untrue.

Vinz was added as a Kickstarter exclusive character to Cryptozotic Entertainment's Ghostbusters: The Board Game after the $400,000 stretch goal was achieved. It can only be acquired by backing the game during its fundraising period. The fundraising period ends March 11, 2015. [8]

"I am Vinz, Vinz Clortho, Keymaster of Gozer...Volguus Zildrohoar, Lord of the Seboullia. are you the Gatekeeper?"

"You will perish in flame! Soon as I find the Gatekeeper."

"Gozer the Traveller, he will come in one of the pre-chosen forms. During the rectification of the Vuldronaii, the Traveller came as a large and moving Torb! Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the Meketrex Supplicants they chose a new form for him... that of a Giant Sloar! many Shubs and Zulls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Sloar that day I can tell you."

↑Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters, p. 117 annotation. New York Zoetrope, New York NY USA, ISBN 0918432685. Paragraph reads: "Robert Kline went so far as to devise separate concepts -- one rather svelte creature which would transform into Dana, played by an as yet unspecified actress; and a short dumpy one which would become Louis, played by John Candy."

↑Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters, p. 114 annotation. New York Zoetrope, New York NY USA, ISBN 0918432685. Paragraph reads: "Getting the coats to land on the Terror Dogs head -- a job that fell to effects art director John Bruno -- proved to be more difficult than anticipated, requiring numerous repeat attempts before a successful shot was achieved."

↑Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters, p. 114 annotation. New York Zoetrope, New York NY USA, ISBN 0918432685. Paragraph reads: "Three scenes in the sequence -- the Terror Dog bursting through the bedroom door, then landing on the buffet table and later crashing through the apartment door into the hallway -- were postproduction blue-screen shots utilizing a small-scale stop-motion puppet animated frame by frame. Closeups -- and other scenes where the creature was not required to walk, run or jump -- were achieved on the live-action set using the full-size articulated puppet."

↑Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters, p. 120 annotation. New York Zoetrope, New York NY USA, ISBN 0918432685. Paragraph reads: "The clumsiness of the Terror Dogs was emphasized in some of the early boards, although many of the gags -- including a shot of it sliding into the wall and causing Louis' bookshelves to collapse -- were omitted prior to photography."

↑Shay, Don (November 1985). Making Ghostbusters, p. 120 annotation. New York Zoetrope, New York NY USA, ISBN 0918432685. Paragraph reads: "Ivan Reitman coaches the Terror Dog in the apartment house corridor. Major motions were made by a puppeteer whose torso extended up through the elevated floor and into the dog. Facial articulations were cable-controlled by a half-dozen operators working independently, but in concert. The video camera in the foreground was used to that puppeteers below stage could gauge the results of their action on monitors."

↑World of Gozer Audio Displays; Board of Trustees area (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Realistic Versions) - Museum of (Super)Natural History Level (2009) (Video Game). Terminal Reality. Audio Display says: "Gozer the Destroyer became Gozer the Traveler, voyaging to multiple worlds and conquering them. In a key aspect of the legend, Gozer allowed one hero from each world to choose its own Destructor Form. Gozer would then manifest in the chosen form to destroy and conquer that world. Gozer gained access to each world via the coupling of two demigod ambassadors, a Keymaster and a Gatekeeper. History only reveals the names of two of these minions, Vinz Clortho and Zuul. It is believed there are many others. Gozer the Destroyer--"